


Saving Shmi

by DontCallMeShirley



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family Feels, Fix-It, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-24 18:40:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18168689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontCallMeShirley/pseuds/DontCallMeShirley
Summary: Anakin opens up about his nightmares, and a better outcome is had by all.





	Saving Shmi

 

_ The air was rent with screams of terror and pain. The ropes were the only thing that held the woman up--her head was bent forward, her dark hair obscuring her face, her body jerking with each new cut and strike. There would be no mercy from her tormentors, faceless in their headwraps and scarves… _

“Anakin?  Anakin! Wake up, Anakin!” 

Anakin gasped and sat up with a start, heart racing, panting for breath.  

“Wha-- Master!”

“Anakin, you were having a nightmare,” said Obi Wan, concerned.  He was sitting up beside Anakin, hand on his shoulder.

Although Anakin was 20 years old and a senior padawan--and surely ready to take his trials!--he forgot all that in the need for comfort.  He flung himself onto Obi Wan and held on tight, tears coursing from his eyes. Obi Wan wasn’t very demonstrative, but he held him and patted him gingerly.

“What were you dreaming about, Anakin?” he asked.  “You were thrashing and shaking, and I could sense pain in our bond.”

Anakin snuffled a bit more, then sat back and looked at his master.  They were on Ansion to resolve a border dispute, and were sharing a bed in a small room.  It wasn’t unusual for them to share when they were on missions, but Anakin was embarrassed, wishing he were alone.  He didn’t like to look weak in front of Obi Wan. Still, he was too shaken to come up with a good lie.

“It...it was my mom.  She’d been captured by Sand People and she was being tortured,” he said, wiping away his tears.  

Obi Wan looked at him thoughtfully.  “Do you dream about your mother often?” he finally asked.

“No.  Just started to again. I left Tatooine so long ago, my memory of her is fading.  But lately…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. 

Obi Wan patted him on the back.  “Do you think you can go back to sleep, or would you like to meditate?” 

“Meditate,” said Anakin, firmly.  He didn’t really like to meditate, but he did not want to see those images of his mother again.  And he needed to connect to Obi Wan, Obi Wan made him feel safe. 

They took seats on the floor and Anakin grabbed Obi Wan’s hand.  Obi Wan gave it a quick squeeze, then led them in a joint meditation. 

When they were done, Anakin felt calmer, but he still had a pit in his stomach.  They showered and dressed, but before they headed out for the negotiations, Obi Wan stopped him.

“Anakin, I’ve been thinking.  Master Unduli and Padawan Offee aren’t scheduled to arrive here for another week.  I can handle negotiations myself until then,” he said.

Anakin just stared at him, puzzled.  He didn’t understand what Obi Wan was getting at.

Obi Wan continued, patiently.  “When I was a youngling, I had premonitory dreams.  I don’t know if that’s what you were having, but I could feel your pain and distress.  Take our ship, go to Tatooine, check on your mother. But be back here in one week.”

Anakin couldn’t believe his ears.  Go to Tatooine? See his mother? He didn’t even stop to think twice. He crushed Obi Wan in a tight hug, threw stuff randomly into his go-bag, and ran for the door.  

“You won’t regret this Master!  I won’t let you down! I’ll be back in one week!” he shouted over his shoulder as he pelted down the hall.

“May the Force be with you, Anakin.”

*******

 

Anakin landed at the Mos Espa spaceport and went directly to Watto’s.  He found the Toydarian outside the shop, muttering to himself.

Anakin didn’t see or sense his mother nearby. He announced himself loudly, and Watto popped up when he recognized him.

“Ani?  Little Ani? Is that really you?”

Anakin was curt, in no mood for idle chit chat. “Yes.  Where is my mother?”

“Well, I sold her.  Years ago. To a moisture farmer named Lars.”

Anakin scowled.  “Sold her?!”

Watto shrugged.  “Business is business.  But you know what? I heard that he freed her and married her.  Can you beat that?”

Anakin gritted his teeth, but managed to hold his temper.  “Can you give me the address?”

“Sure, sure…” Wattoo dug around in his paperwork for a few moments, then handed Anakin the receipt.  Anakin snatched it out of his hands and ran for his ship.

******

 

This Cliegg Lars lived closer to Mos Eisley than Mos Espa.  Anakin flew to the homestead and landed nearby. He rushed to the house, where he sensed fear and loss.   _ Please please please don’t let me be too late, please... _

The first person he saw was C3PO. He was in the right place. “C3PO!” he shouted.

“Master Ani!  It is so good to see you again!” The droid shuffled up and patted Anakin on the arm.  “Oh my! Something terrible has happened, you must come with me!”

C3PO led him inside, where three people were gathered around a table having what appeared to be a council of war. Anakin could almost taste their worry. This in no way helped his burgeoning panic.

“Master Lars!  Master Owen! Miss Beru!  Master Ani has come home! The maker has returned!” twittered C3PO.

“My name is Anakin Skywalker,” he said as he shook hands with them briefly, then crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t bother with other niceties.  “Where is my mother, Shmi?”

The three looked at each other.  The eldest cleared his throat. “My name is Cliegg Lars, son.  And this is my son Owen, and his girlfriend Beru. We had looked forward to meeting you, but not under these circumstances. Shmi was taken by a band of Tusken Raiders early one morning when she went out to pick mushrooms off the vaporators.”

Anakin’s stomach clenched.  His head swirled. He blinked hard to hold back tears.  “When was this?” he demanded.

“Five days ago.  A search party went out immediately, and only half of them returned.  We’re just gathering up another group,” he explained.

Anakin closed his eyes.  He breathed deep. “No. No need.  I will go.”

“But son--” said Cliegg, and Anakin interrupted him sharply.  

“I said I will go.  If I don’t come back, you can try to find us both.”

Owen spoke then.  “You can take my speeder bike.”

Anakin nodded brusquely, but had no more time for words.  Those monsters had already had his mother for five days. There was no time to lose.  He followed Owen outside, hopped on the bike, and tore off into the desert.

He pushed aside his fervent wish that his master was at his side, and opened himself up fully to the Force.  He thought about his mother, sifting through the millions of life forms until he found her own unique presence, still enshrined in his heart. He honed in on it.

Anakin sensed an encampment nearby, and slowed down. Hopping off the bike, he hid it in a crevice in the rocks. He bent into a low crouch and crept closer to a tent guarded by a couple of Raiders. There—that’s where his mother was. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he snuck around back and sliced a hole in the tent.  He peeked in...and nearly passed out. His mother was tied to some tent poles, bruises and cuts covering her. He could feel them, even the ones he couldn’t see. She was asleep--or, more likely, unconscious. He carefully cut her down, lifted her into his arms, and snuck back out the way he’d come. 

He had an irrational desire to lay waste to the entire camp for what they’d done to his mother, but the important thing was to get her back to medical care immediately.  So he carried her gently to the bike, held her tight in his arms, and drove carefully back to the homestead, crooning endearments and encouragement to her the whole way.

*******

 

Cliegg contacted the healer immediately, but she wasn’t nearby; luckily, Beru and Owen were no slouches in medical care.  Anakin supposed they had to be skilled, living so far out of town and with the Sand People preying on them. They worked together efficiently, bathing Shmi’s cuts and putting cold packs on her bruises and even getting her to take a few sips of water. Anakin, meanwhile, paced anxiously and made a general nuisance of himself.  

Finally the healer arrived.  She gave Shmi antibiotics and set her broken bones and gave her pain medication to take the edge off.

“How did you get her back?” she asked, curiously, eyeing up Anakin.  

“I’m a jedi.  And she’s my mother.” Jedi. It suddenly occurred to him that he could have used the Force to heal her, even if it was something he wasn’t very good at.  He had let fear cloud his judgment. He took a deep breath and released it.

The healer nodded.  “Yes. Well, it’s a good thing you found her when you did.  She’ll make a full recovery. She’s going to need a lot of rest and care for the next few days, but she’ll be alright.  She’s a tough lady.” 

Anakin slumped with relief.  

When the healer left he was finally persuaded to eat, and then to lay down.  He didn’t think he’d sleep, but the stress of the day had tired him more than he’d realized and he drifted off immediately.

******

 

Shmi regained consciousness the next day, to everyone’s great relief.  

She wasn’t awake long the first time, but Anakin was right there when her eyes opened.  

She looked at him in disbelief.  “Ani? Is that you? You look so handsome, my grown-up son…” she reached out a hand to cup his cheek.  He quickly put his hand over hers and held it there. The others faded from the room.

“Mom,” he said, in a strangled voice.  The tears were coming thick and fast. “You’re safe mom.  You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” He was talking for himself as much as her. She was still so frail and her hand was trembling, and it scared him.

“I am safe, Ani.  I am safe. You came to get me, didn’t you?  I was thinking of you…” she said, voice hoarse but tender.

Anakin wiped away the tears.  “I know. I dreamed of you. My master let me come see you.”

“Qui Gon?” she asked.

“No,” said Anakin, forgetting that she wouldn’t have known about that.  “Obi Wan, Qui Gon’s padawan. Qui Gon was killed in battle, so Obi Wan took me as his learner.”  He took a moment to be fervently grateful to Obi Wan. If he hadn’t let him come back here...no, it didn’t bear thinking about.  “He is a great mentor. As wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu.”

His mom had a loving but blank look on her face--she didn’t know who any of those people were.  Anakin chuckled weakly. “Never mind Mom. You look tired, just rest. I can stay a few more days, there will be time to catch up.  And,” he added, beckoning to the people lurking anxiously in the hallway, “there are some others who would like to say hi to you too.”  

He stood up and leaned against the wall of the room, and let the Lars--her  _ family _ , and his too, he supposed--come closer. He closed his eyes and let a feeling of peace steal over him.

 

*******

 

The next few days went by far too quickly.  He spent as much time with Shmi as he could.  He told her all about his Jedi training, and learned about how she met and married Cliegg, and what life was like on a moisture farm. While she was resting he got to know Cliegg and Owen and Beru, who all seemed to be good-hearted people, by offering to help on the farm. He put his mechanical abilities to good use by improving their vaporators and enhancing their perimeter fencing to keep those sith-damned Sand People away.

Finally, the day came when he had to return to Ansion.  He was vaguely tempted to stay, but he wasn’t about to let Obi Wan down. And he knew that his place in the galaxy was not on a moisture farm on Tatooine, but as a Jedi, doing what he could to help others.

Before he went, he handed Shmi and Cliegg a comm link he had fashioned out of parts he found in their garage.

“I’ve preset my number in there,” he explained, placing it on Shmi’s palm and curling her fingers over it.  “And Master Obi Wan’s as well. If you ever need anything--if anything happens again with the Sand People, or with the Hutts, or well, anything--contact us.”  

Shmi threw her arms around him, drawing him in for a big hug.  “Ani, I’m so proud of you, so proud of the man you’ve become.”

“I’m going to miss you, mom,” he said, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.  

“I’m going to miss you too son, but I am so glad I saw you. So glad we had this time together.”

He shook hands with Cliegg, Owen, and Beru.  Then he turned to C3PO. “Thank you for taking such good care of Mom, C3PO,” he said, clasping the droids hands with his own.  

He turned back to look at them one more time.  “I’ll see you again,” he said, with conviction.  “May the Force be with you.” And he boarded the ship and was gone.

*****

 

Anakin made quick time back to Ansion, but he knew he was still cutting it close.  He zipped into the spaceport and landed the ship in the same slot it had been in before, then he reached out with the Force to find Obi Wan.  There. In the middle of somewhat unsuccessful negotiations, it seemed like, based on Obi Wan’s rising level of irritation. 

Anakin took an extra few minutes to chuck his bag back in the room he shared with Obi Wan, then he hurried to join him. As luck would have it, the negotiation teams had just stopped for a break and were milling about in the hallway outside the meeting rooms.

“Anakin!” said Obi Wan, clearly pleased to see him.  “I take it your mission was a success?” he asked, being vague for the benefit of the nearby eavesdroppers who weren’t even bothering to hide their curiosity.

“Indeed, Master!” Anakin said, beaming.  He knew that wasn’t a traditional Jedi facial expression, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Master Luminara and her padawan are scheduled to arrive in a couple hours, and we are taking a break until then,” said Obi Wan, taking Anakin by the elbow and leading him toward the nearby gardens.  “Come, walk with me and fill me in on this success.” 

  
The End

**Author's Note:**

> No manpain was created in the making of this fic. 
> 
> There are some quotes, and some partial quotes, here from AOTC.


End file.
